Shrimp tacos and more

Does anyone have a simple shrimp taco recipe? We're tailgating at the Brewers-Padres game this Saturday and want to cook something that would be found at San Diego's home ballpark, and shrimp tacos appeal to both of us.

I figure I can do it 1 of 2 ways: either marinate the shrimp at home, dry them off, and take them to the park, or do the marinating at the game itself. For option #2 I'd prefer to keep things really simple; I suppose I could use a commercial taco seasoning with some olive oil and lime juice but that seems a little too easy.

Also, neither of us like guacamole and that seems to be a popular topping for seafood tacos. In fact, I like my tacos with nothing more than the protein, a little cheese (what kind would be good for shrimp?), and some sauce.

Thanks!

Brad

I don't have a recipe, and I'm not familiar with how the locals make it in California, but my favorite menu item at Chili's is their Shrimp Tacos...

http://www.chilis.com/EN/Pages/menu.aspx

They have this cilantro-lime slaw and chili-lime sauce that is really good IMHO. You may be able to find a copy cat recipe somewhere.

I use my home made seafood seasoning instead of marinating. You can use any blackened seafood seasoning that you could find. In the south we use pickle relish in our cole slaw. I substitue this with diced mango, but you could use pineapple as well. I also make a Chipoltle sour cream to kick up the spice. I don't use any cheese on my seafood tacos. I take the warm tortilla, spread on the chipoltle sour cream, add the shrimp, and top with the slaw.

Good luck.

Dyal_SC wrote:

You may be able to find a copy cat recipe somewhere.

Good idea! I have a book that deconstructs well-known restaurant recipes so I'll check it tonight.

Bubbaque's approach sounds good, too. A rub would be simpler, especially if I'm doing everything in the parking lot.

I know it used to be real popular here years ago, I never tried it and haven't seen it in awhile, but does anybody remember green lightning shrimp? Or green something shrimp? Would that work?

If it was just me Green Lightning Shrimp would be good but in this case I don't think they'd be the best choice because my wife doesn't like spicy food and I want to keep things simple.

I've been finding a lot of fish/shellfish taco recipes that put most of the flavor in the salsa and keep the fish pretty simple, which is kind of opposite to how I generally make tacos. But beef, chicken, and pork can take the big marinades a lot better, too.

We did some shrimp tacos just up the coast from San Diego over the weekend. We used our Weber Q120 in Dana Point overlooking the Pacific Ocean. They turned out great! We used World Harbors Island Mango Marinade. Since shrimp don't need too much marinade time, we skewered the cleaned shrimp and brought the marinade with us in the cooler. Once we reached the beach, we poured the marinade over the shrimp and left it for about an hour and a half.
Amazing flavor from the shrimp. We even warmed the tortillas on the grill.
Fresh limes, salsa, avocado, onions topped it off.

ScreamingChicken wrote:

Also, neither of us like guacamole and that seems to be a popular topping for seafood tacos. In fact, I like my tacos with nothing more than the protein, a little cheese (what kind would be good for shrimp?), and some sauce.

Thanks!

Brad

For cheese, the authentic way is to use liquidy Mexican 'crema' type cheese, which has a pretty mild cheese/mayonnaise type flavor.

If the marinade is overly limey, it might cook the shrimp before they even get to the grill.

Well, things didn't quite work out so instead of having shrimp tacos as a tailgate supper we wound up having them for lunch the next day.

My wife peeled the shrimp while I was out running an errand.


When I returned I made the marinade, which was really more of a spice paste/wet rub, from a recipe I found online. It included chipotle chiles, lime juice and zest, and olive oil as its main ingredients.


After about 40 minutes the shrimp were ready for the grill. Funny thing, after starting the thread about the orientation of skewered food I wound up doing like Smokeybeaver and just getting them on the sticks.


3-4 minutes on each side over Stubb's briquettes and they were ready. Anyone anal enough to count will notice a shrimp missing...quality control is important.


I like my tacos simple but Mrs. SC adds lettuce, tomato, and that sort of stuff. The salsa came from a jar but the cheese was a manchego-style product from a local creamery, which was the errand I mentioned earlier. The shrimp had a mildly spicy flavor from the marinade and not loading up with too much cheese and salsa meant the the flavor didn't get hidden. The tortillas were heated over a gas stove burner.



But wait...I had bought 2 pounds of shrimp (16/20) but only used 1 for the tacos, so I had another pound to dispose of. Remembering an earlier thread of Dyal's that used fresh herbs, I decided to start with some basil (left), sage (right), and oregano (rear).


I used another Web recipe but just as a guideline, and added salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, and white wine.


Another short marination and they were ready for the grill.


This time I left the shells on to help trap the juices and protect the delicate shrimp meat, so we would have to peel 'n' eat at the table like savages.


A simple packaged creamy garlic pasta was the side dish and by the time I got done with fixing my plate and taking a photo my daughter had eaten 9 of the 20 shrimp, so we had to split the remaining 11. Can't beat dinner and a math lesson.


The herbs added a nice freshness and a vinaigrette makes a great short-time seafood marinade, but the chipotle shrimp for the tacos were very good in their own different way. I just wish I could afford to eat shrimp more often!

Brad

Good eats right there... 2 nice cooks!

Very nicely done! I gotta try making shrimp tacos at home. I also need to go shrimpin' so I can stock up.

Thanks for the mention.

That all looks fantastic.

I just saw this thread now, but if Mrs. Smokeybeaver was prepping the shrimp marinade she would make would be taking a commercial taco season mix and use tequila instead of water to marinate the shrimp in for an hour or two before grilling.